Barcelona star Ansu Fati went into meltdown after spending 90 minutes on the bench on Saturday.
The winger was called to warm up by manager Hansi Flick but was not brought on during Barcelona’s dramatic comeback win over Celta Vigo.
The Catalan giants overturned a two-goal deficit to win 4-3 and move seven points clear at the top of LaLiga in a season-defining moment.
Flick’s side found themselves 3-1 down at home after Borja Iglesias’ hat-trick, before rallying in sensational fashion to score a winner right at the death. Dani Olmo and Raphinha hit back in quick succession, netting in the 64th and 68th minute respectively.
A penalty was then awarded by VAR in the 98th minute after a foul on Olmo, and Raphinha held his nerve to blast his spot-kick high into the net.
While Flick’s substitutes – Olmo and Lamine Yamal – helped to inspire the turnaround, there were no minutes available for Fati.
Ansu Fati was enraged after being called to warm up then sent back to the bench by Hansi Flick
Fati threw off his bib, kicked a water cooler, then kicked the stairs up to the bench shortly after
The winger was an unused substitute as Barcelona came from behind to beat Celta Vigo 4-3
After being told to sat back down by Flick, the former Brighton loan star threw his bib off in anger before kicking a water cooler.
Then, on his way back up to his seat, the concrete stairs were the next victim of Fati’s frustrations as he kicked out again.
Fati has struggled for minutes at Barcelona all season, having made just four LaLiga appearances and one start in 2024-25.
In that time, the forward has logged only 125 minutes – an average of 31 minutes per game. He has also been deployed as a late substitute on occasion in the Champions League.
A La Masia graduate, the 22-year-old inherited the No 10 shirt for Barcelona from Lionel Messi ahead of the 2021-22 season.
However, after an injury-ridden two years, Fati joined Brighton on loan in hopes of getting his career back on track – but he was only able to score four goals in 27 appearances for the Seagulls.
Since returning to Barcelona, he has found himself third in the left wing pecking order behind Raphinha and Ferran Torres.
But with Robert Lewandowski’s hamstring injury set to keep him out until May, Fati may have a chance to slot into Barcelona’s rejigged front three in one of their remaining nine games this season.
